"Rails": Nov. 16, 7 p.m., Anam Cara Collective, 203 Haywood Road, Asheville. Honest, reliable, and a-bit-slouched Wilbur Burland uncovers crooked dealings perpetrated by his straight-spined employer, while a mysterious femme fatale engineers disaster at every turn. Puppets, people and a live band collide in this "fiendishly satisfying noir comedy/thriller" by Philadelphia's Transmissions Theatre. Pay what you can at the door-cash only. www.railstheplay.weebly.com.

"The Book Club Play": Nov. 15-16, 7:30 p.m., North Carolina Stage Company, 15 Stage Lane, Asheville. Ana is excited when a filmmaker wants to include her book club in a documentary, but the club is unprepared for the secrets the camera reveals. $16-$28. 239-0263 or www.ncstage.org/pages/get-tickets.php.

"columbinus": Nov. 21-23 7:30 p.m., Nov. 24 2 p.m., Carol Belk Theatre at UNC-Asheville. Sparked by April 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. Examines the alienation, hostility and social pressure that goes on in high schools. $10, $8 for seniors, $5 students and OLLI members. www.drama.unca.edu/theatre-unca or 251-6610.

"Spinning Into Butter" and "Flyin' West": Warren Wilson College Theatre, Warren Wilson College Road, Swannanoa. "Spinning Into Butter" Nov. 22 and 24 and Dec. 7, "Flyin' West" Nov. 23 and Dec. 6 and 8. Free for all area students with school identification, free for alumni, faculty and staff, $10 general admission. 771-3040.

"Mulan Jr.": Nov. 15-16 7:30 p.m., Mountain Heritage High School, U.S. 19, Burnsville. Defying the village matchmaker, Mulan takes up arms and disguises as a boy in order to spare her father from having to serve in the army. By Parkway Playhouse Jr. cast. $10, $8 member, $5 age 5-18.

"Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol": Dec. 11-29, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, North Carolina Stage Company, 15 Stage Lane, Asheville. We know what happens to Scrooge but what about his old business partner Marley? Is he truly past redemption or does every person deserve a chance to change, to do better? $16-$28. 239-0263 or www.ncstage.org.

"Smoke On the Mountain-A Musical Comedy": Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m., Legacy Theatre, 316 W. Old Andrew Johnson Hwy., Jefferson City, TN. The year is 1938. It's Saturday night in Mount Pleasant, N.C., and the Rev. Oglethorpe has invited the Sanders Family Singers to provide an upliftin' evening of singin' and witnessin'. $12, $7 students and age 62 and older. www.legacytheatre.us.

"Cabaret": Nov. 24-25, 6-8 p.m., Asheville Community Theatre, 35 E. Walnut St. Prepare to sing 16 bars of music (not from "Cabaret") and bring your sheet music to the audition in the key in which you will be singing. ACT will provide an accompanist. No one may sing along to a CD or other recording. Be prepared to sing first and then read for a specific role. Afterwards you will join other actors - auditioning in a group dance audition - so wear comfortable clothes and shoes to dance in. 254-1320.